Review of the waste levy - Department of Water · 2020-02-19 · 2 Objective of the waste levy The...

Review of the waste levyConsultation paper February 2020

Review of the waste levy

Consultation paper

Department of Water and Environmental Regulation

February 2020


Prime House, 8 Davidson Terrace

Joondalup Western Australia 6027

Locked Bag 10 Joondalup DC WA 6919

Phone: 08 6364 7000

Fax: 08 6364 7001

National Relay Service 13 36 77

dwer.wa.gov.au

© Government of Western Australia

February 2020

FIRST 115812

This work is copyright. You may download, display, print and reproduce this material in unaltered form

only (retaining this notice) for your personal, non-commercial use or use within your organisation.

Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are reserved. Requests

and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the Department of Water and

Environmental Regulation.

For more information about this report, contact:

[email protected]

Disclaimer

This document has been published by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. Any

representation, statement, opinion or advice expressed or implied in this publication is made in good

faith and on the basis that the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation and its employees

are not liable for any damage or loss whatsoever which may occur as a result of action taken or not

taken, as the case may be in respect of any representation, statement, opinion or advice referred to

herein. Professional advice should be obtained before applying the information contained in this

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This publication is available at our website www.dwer.wa.gov.au or for those with special needs it can

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mailto:[email protected]


http://www.dwer.wa.gov.au/


Department of Water and Environmental Regulation iii

Contents

Consultation on the waste levy .................................................................................... 1

1 Introduction.............................................................................................................. 2

Waste levy avoidance and evasion ........................................................................................................ 3

Waste levy expenditure ......................................................................................................................... 3

2 Objective of the waste levy ...................................................................................... 4

Original objective ................................................................................................................................... 4

Waste Avoidance Resource and Resource Recovery Act ..................................................................... 4

Waste Strategy 2030 .............................................................................................................................. 4

3 How the levy can help achieve the objectives of Waste Strategy 2030 ................... 5

4 Rate of the levy ....................................................................................................... 7

5 Setting future levy rates ........................................................................................... 9

6 Geographical area of the levy................................................................................ 10

7 Waste management options to be levied .............................................................. 14

8 Other improvements to the waste levy .................................................................. 17

9 How to make a submission.................................................................................... 18


Department of Water and Environmental Regulation 1

Consultation on the waste levy

This paper seeks community input on improving the waste levy.

The issues discussed in this paper will be of primary interest to generators and

managers of waste, investors and others involved in developing improved

approaches to managing waste in Western Australia. This consultation provides an

opportunity to raise issues, concerns and opportunities, and provide information on

potential impacts on businesses, the community and government.

Following the public consultation period, the Department of Water and Environmental

Regulation (the department) will analyse submissions, undertake further investigation

and modelling, and make recommendations to the Minister for Environment.

By making a submission you are consenting to the submission being treated as a

public document. Your name will be published; however, your contact address will be

withheld for privacy. If you do not consent to your submission being treated as a

public document, you should either mark it as confidential, or specifically identify the

parts that you consider confidential, and include an explanation.

Submissions will be summarised in a report following the close of the consultation

period.

The department may request that a non-confidential summary of the material is also

given. It is important to note that, even if your submission is treated as confidential by

the department, it may still be disclosed in accordance with the requirements of the

Freedom of Information Act 1992, or any other applicable written law.

The department reserves the right before publishing a submission to delete any

content that could be regarded as racially vilifying, derogatory or defamatory to an

individual or an organisation.

How to make a submission

The consultation period will be 12 weeks. Written submissions must be received by

5pm (WST) on Friday, May 15, 2020. No late submissions will be considered.

Written submissions can be lodged (preferred) at

consult.dwer.wa.gov.au/waste-policy/review-of-the-waste-levy/

Hard copies can be mailed to:

Waste Levy Review


Locked Bag 10, Joondalup DC, WA 6919

Feedback from this consultation process will inform the development of final legislative

approaches to support waste reform in Western Australia.

For further information please email [email protected]

https://consult.dwer.wa.gov.au/waste-policy/review-of-the-waste-levy/




2 Department of Water and Environmental Regulation

1 Introduction

The Government of Western Australian is committed to reducing waste disposed to

landfill, and increasing resource recovery across the state. Western Australia’s

Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy 2030 (Waste Strategy 2030)

outlines approaches to avoid the generation of waste, increase material recovery,

and protect the environment from the impacts of waste.

The waste levy applies to the landfill disposal of waste generated in the Perth

metropolitan area. It increases the cost of landfill disposal, which provides a financial

incentive to decrease the quantity of landfill disposal.

Waste Strategy 2030 includes a headline strategy to review the scope and

application of the waste levy to ensure it meets the objectives of the strategy. These

are shown in figure 1.

Figure 1: Objectives and targets of Waste Strategy 2030

The strategy also requires the establishment of a schedule of future waste levy rates

with a minimum five-year horizon.

Purpose and scope of this paper

The Government of Western Australian is reviewing the scope and application of the

waste levy to ensure it meets the objectives of Waste Strategy 2030.

This paper seeks the input of key waste stakeholders as part of the evidence to

inform the review. The review will also consider economic analysis and other

investigations.

As outlined in Waste Strategy 2030, the review adopts the objectives of the waste

strategy as objectives for the review of the waste levy.

Reforms in progress that relate to the waste levy

The Government is progressing a number of other waste reforms that relate to the

waste levy and support the objectives of Waste Strategy 2030. These reforms have

not been discussed in this paper as they will be (or have been) subject to separate

consultation processes:

Amendments to the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Regulations

2008 (WARR Regulations) to require recordkeeping and reporting of waste

and recycling data from local governments, waste recyclers and licensees of

https://www.wasteauthority.wa.gov.au/images/resources/files/2019/10/Strategic_Direction_-_Waste_Avoidance_and_Resource_Recovery_Strategy_2030.pdf



major regional landfills. This has been enacted from 1 July 2019 and the first

of the required reports will be submitted by 1 October 2020.

Review of the uncontaminated fill thresholds in Table 6 of the Landfill Waste

Classification and Waste Definitions 1996 (as amended 2019)

Proposed amendments to the WARR Levy Regulations to require the use of

weighbridges for Category 63, 64 and 65 landfill premises to calculate leviable

waste.

Waste not, want not – valuing waste as a resource – Consultation to inform

development of a legislative framework to provide for beneficial re-use of

waste-derived materials.

Legislative proposals for waste reform (Closing the loop – Waste reforms for a

circular economy in Western Australia)

Further information on these five initiatives, and links to previous consultation, is

available at www.dwer.wa.gov.au. The feedback received from these consultation

processes will form part of the inputs used to provide advice to the Minister.

Waste levy avoidance and evasion

The consultation processes listed above include significant proposed measures to

address the potential for waste levy avoidance and evasion.

This paper discusses waste levy avoidance and evasion where it is relevant to the

scope and application of issues in the paper. It does not include a comprehensive

discussion of waste levy avoidance and evasion.

Waste levy expenditure

Currently, $20.75 million per annum (25 per cent) of the forecast waste levy revenue

is allocated to waste-related actions administered by the Waste Authority or

undertaken by the department. This funding supports actions under Waste Strategy

2030.

This review does not discuss in detail the role of the levy in funding programs and

actions. The effectiveness of waste levy expenditure is dependent on the

effectiveness of actions, each of which needs to be evaluated on its own

performance.

Identifying measures that are successful in supporting Waste Strategy 2030

demonstrates the benefit of levy expenditure on waste management.

Delivery of Waste Strategy 2030’s annual action plan is to be supported by an

evaluation framework, which will guide the evaluation of programs and actions

funded by the levy. This framework will evaluate the degree to which actions are

meeting the intent of Waste Strategy 2030 and identify potential improvements. The

framework will ensure an approach to evaluation that is consistent, transparent,

consultative and evidence based.

http://www.dwer.wa.gov.au/

https://www.wasteauthority.wa.gov.au/publications/view/strategy/waste-avoidance-and-resource-recovery-strategy-2030-action-plan



2 Objective of the waste levy

The objectives of Waste Strategy 2030 and therefore of the review of the waste levy

are broader than past objectives of a levy.

Original objective

A levy on metropolitan waste was first introduced by the Environmental Protection

(Landfill) Levy Act 1998. Its stated purpose was to provide funding for waste

management and recycling programs1 2.

Waste Avoidance Resource and Resource Recovery Act

The levy was incorporated into the Waste Avoidance Resource and Resource

Recovery Act 2007 (WARR Act) and the Waste Avoidance Resource and Resource

Recovery Levy Act 2007. While the scope and application of the levy remained

largely unchanged, the levy’s purpose was stated as3:

influencing waste management practices, including reducing waste to landfill, by

increasing the price of landfill disposal

raising funds to support waste-related programs, which have the effect of

reducing waste to landfill.

Waste Strategy 2030

The strategy contains the following objectives:

Avoid: Western Australians generate less waste.

Recover: Western Australians recover more value and resources from waste.

Protect: Western Australians protect the environment by managing waste

responsibly.

As specified by the strategy, the current waste levy review seeks to ensure that the

scope and application of the waste levy supports these three objectives, which are

broader than the objectives under the Act.

Chapter 2 – Consultation questions

1. Are there any beneficial outcomes that can be achieved by a levy beyond those

identified in the objectives of Waste Strategy 2030?

1 Environmental Protection (Landfill) Levy bill, second reading, Legislative Assembly 22 October 1997 “to provide necessary funding for waste management and recycling programs”. The speech also refers to Advisory Council on Waste Management (1997)2

2 Western Australian Advisory Council on Waste Management (1997). The Introduction of an urban landfill disposal levy in Western Australia, "The justification for the levy is to raise funds to be spent on waste reduction, recycling and waste management projects and programs, public education and information approved by the Minister for the Environment on advice from the Advisory Council on Waste Management.”

3 Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Levy bill 2007, second reading, legislative assembly, 17 October 2007.



3 How the levy can help achieve the objectives of Waste Strategy 2030

Waste Strategy 2030 contains a number of measures to achieve its objectives, and is

not prescriptive about the role of the waste levy in achieving any particular objective.

The waste levy’s price signal may be relied upon to achieve an objective where it is

effective and efficient relative to the use of other programs and instruments. The

waste levy also provides funds to support other such measures.

The price signal provided by the waste levy makes landfill disposal more expensive

and less attractive to waste generators and managers. Their options to reduce the

financial cost of landfill disposal include reduced generation of waste and increased

recovery and recycling.

If landfill disposal becomes less attractive than alternatives, then waste generators or

managers may choose these options instead of landfill. A waste levy may lead to

increased waste recovery or reduced generation. The factors that affect whether this

will occur include:

the disposal costs of some waste generators (such as households) are not tied to

the volumes of waste that they generate, and households that generate and

dispose of less waste do not receive reduced local government rates

the viability and cost of beneficial alternatives to landfill can depend on the

strength of markets for recoverable materials and the cost of establishing

processing infrastructure.

Where there are potential uses for recyclable material that are near to being

commercially viable, increasing the cost of landfill disposal may make these uses

financially competitive with landfill.

Waste levy avoidance and evasion can also result in reduced actual or reported

quantities of waste disposed to landfill. Key reforms to address avoidance and

evasion are outlined in section 1.

The effectiveness of a waste levy to divert waste from landfill depends on the realistic

options that waste generators and managers have to respond to the increased costs

of landfill, and the decisions and investments they make. A waste levy may improve

recovery of materials if potential recovery opportunities exist. However, like all

financial incentives, it is only effective and efficient if beneficial alternatives are within

its reach.




The department would appreciate your feedback on the following question:

1. Are there any other strengths or weaknesses of a waste levy as an instrument for

achieving the objectives of Waste Strategy 2030?

If you can provide evidence or more detailed information to support your views, this

may help make a stronger case for appropriate action.



4 Rate of the levy

Levy rates since 2012

In developing the 2012 waste strategy, the Waste Authority advised the government

that an increase to the rate of the waste levy was required in order to meet the

strategy’s waste diversion targets.

A five-year schedule of increases was instituted from 1 January 2015. This took the

waste levy from its 2014 levels of $28 and $8 per tonne of putrescible waste and inert

waste respectively, to $70 per tonne for both putrescible waste and inert waste from

1 July 2018 onwards. This is shown in Table 1.

Period Putrescible

rate/tonne

Approx. inert

rate/tonne

Inert rate/m3

31 December 2014 $28 $8 $12

1 January 2015 – 30

June 2016

$55 $40 $60

1 July 2016 – 30 June

2017

$60 $50 $75

1 July 2017 – 30 June

2018

$65 $60 $90

I July 2018 onwards $70 $70 $105

Table 1 – Waste levy rates

Effect of the levy rate

A key element of the waste levy’s objectives involves the diversion of waste from

landfill towards material recovery by making recycling more financially attractive

relative to landfilling.

However, if financially attractive opportunities for recycling do not emerge, then

increasing the waste levy may have unintended consequences, such as creating an

incentive for the inappropriate disposal of waste in order to avoid paying a levy.

Since the increases in the waste levy, there has been a significant decline in waste

from the Perth metropolitan area being disposed to landfill, particularly construction

and demolition waste. However, there is currently a lack of data on waste volumes

and flows to indicate that re-use and recycling rates for waste are improving.

Changes to the WARR Regulations commencing from 1 July 2019 will improve

information and reporting about waste flows.



The disposal of waste to landfill misses opportunities for the better use of materials.

However, waste that is contained within a well-managed landfill has substantially less

environmental impact than waste that is disposed inappropriately in the environment.

A prudent approach to future waste levy increases may involve understanding what

beneficial recovery and re-use opportunities exist, and confirming that the waste levy

is functioning as intended and is not causing unacceptable negative consequences.

When these circumstances are in place, then increasing the waste levy may be an

effective way to improve recovery rates.


1. How has the waste levy benefitted or affected your waste business or operations?

2. Can you advise of any recycling and waste diversion opportunities that would

become viable if the waste levy was increased or applied in a different way? What

rate of levy could be required to make these viable?

3. Please provide information on potential impacts which may result from increasing

the waste levy.

4. If you knew when the waste levy was going to be varied, how would it affect your

decisions about managing waste or related investments?





5 Setting future levy rates

As new information, circumstances and technology emerge in future, there may be

good reasons to adjust the waste levy, to ensure it is based on up-to-date knowledge

about the efficient management of waste.

On the other hand, if waste levy rates are set several years in advance, this can give

waste managers time to plan and implement strategies to better manage waste in

response to changes to the waste levy. Where commercial investments are required

to better manage waste, advance notice of rates can provide greater confidence to

support such investment.

Like most other charges imposed by government, the waste levy is set by the

Government in regulations (Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Levy

Regulations 2008). Publication of an advance schedule of future waste levy rates and

its incorporation into regulation shows the intention of government at the time the

rates are set.

However, if a schedule of waste levy rates is set for a longer time into the future, it is

more likely that new information will arise, market circumstances will change or waste

management innovations will emerge before the schedule reaches its final year.

While it may be legally possible for a government to adjust a schedule of rates before

the end of its term, this could also defeat the purpose of establishing an advance

schedule of rates.



1. How might the Government best balance the need for responsiveness to

emerging knowledge about best practice waste management with the benefits of

providing the confidence about future waste levy rates?





6 Geographical area of the levy

Currently, the waste levy applies to Perth metropolitan waste received for disposal to

landfill, or waste received for disposal at landfills in the Perth metropolitan region.

New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria apply levies on landfill in at least

some regional areas (Table 6.1).

Metropolitan Regional Exempted

regions

New South

Wales

144 83 Remote/less

populated

Queensland 75 75 Remote/less

populated

South Australia 110 55

Victoria 664 33

Table 6.1 Waste levy rates as at December 2019 (dollars per tonne)

The review will consider the merits of expanding the geographical area of the levy, to

apply it to waste generated in locations outside Perth.

Increasing recovery outside the metropolitan area

About 25 per cent of Western Australians live outside the Perth metropolitan area.

Encouraging resource recovery in regional areas of Western Australia may help

achieve Waste Strategy 2030 targets, which include targets for the Peel region and

major regional centres5.

Year Perth and Peel Major regional centres

2020 65% 50%

2025 67% 55%

2030 70% 60%

Table 6.2: Targets for municipal solid waste material recovery (Waste Strategy 2030)

In regional areas, the greater distances involved in transporting waste and the lower

population density can make some recycling opportunities less viable than in more

4 Waste from three larger regional cities (Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong) is levied at the metropolitan rate

5 Waste Strategy 2030 lists Albany, Busselton, Bunbury, Greater Geraldton and Kalgoorlie-Boulder as major regional centres



populated areas closer to infrastructure. At the time that the levy was first established

in 1998, there were considered to be few recycling opportunities in Western Australia

outside the metropolitan area.

Yet despite the views that were formed 20 years ago, about 40 per cent of total non-

metropolitan waste is recycled, so clearly at least some opportunities exist to recover

waste generated outside the metropolitan area.

A levy on waste generated in areas outside Perth may provide a financial incentive

that may result in increased recovery. For example, waste that is produced in larger

volumes, that is more costly to transport and that can be recovered with simple

processing infrastructure (such as some construction and demolition or organic

wastes) may be best recovered locally.

The Perth and Peel region together comprise about 80 per cent of the state’s

population. About 90 per cent of the population lives within major population centres

including Perth, Peel and major regional centres.

The Peel region has roughly doubled in population since the original landfill levy was

introduced in 1998, and is projected to have a population of 179,000 by 2023. Its

proximity to Perth may give it viable access to similar recycling opportunities.

About 10 per cent of Western Australia’s population lives outside the major

population centres. This is a large part of the area of Western Australia. When

compared with major population centres, in these areas it is relatively less likely that

a waste levy will make a significant and efficient contribution towards the targets of

Waste Strategy 2030. However, it is still possible that there are additional recycling

options in these areas within reach of a levy.

Compliance costs outside the metropolitan area

Landfills that are likely to receive leviable waste are a focus of additional reporting

and inspection requirements to ensure that the levy is paid as intended. Currently,

these landfills are typically in or around Perth, broadly within an area that comprises

less than 5 per cent of the state. In comparison, Perth has about three-quarters of the

state’s population.

Greater distances would need to be travelled in regional areas to monitor and

enforce the application of a levy. In these areas, the expenditure required to ensure

compliance would be proportionately greater, particularly in less-populated areas that

generate less waste.

To ensure that the levy remains efficient, any decision to expand the waste levy will

consider the effect on compliance costs, particularly if the levy were to be extended

to areas where landfill volumes and recycling opportunities are relatively small and

additional levy revenue is likely to be modest.

Rate outside the metropolitan area

If the waste levy were to apply in areas outside Perth, it could be set at the same rate

as Perth, or at a lower rate.



A lower rate would provide less funds to support improved waste management

across Western Australia, and would provide a lesser financial incentive to avoid

landfill. However, a greater financial incentive to avoid landfill would only lead to

increased recycling if suitable potential recycling opportunities exist.

The Peel region is adjacent to Perth and may have similar recycling opportunities to

Perth. In New South Wales and Victoria, waste levies for some locations within or

near the greater metropolitan regions are set at the metropolitan rate.

In New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria, the rate for major regional centres

is about half the metropolitan rate, while in New South Wales and Queensland,

remote areas are exempt from the levy.

Reducing avoidance opportunities

There are industry and government concerns that some operators may be avoiding

payment of the levy by transporting waste to licensed waste facilities outside the

metropolitan region, and failing to disclose (i.e. misclassifying) its origins.

The limited available data does not indicate that misclassification of the geographic

origin of waste is currently a major contributor to waste levy avoidance and evasion.

An expanded levy area may reduce potential opportunities for regional

misclassification. However, it would only be likely to lead to a material reduction to

waste avoidance and evasion under a specific set of circumstances, in which:

misclassification was a significant contributor to avoidance and evasion

an expansion of the waste levy area made the locations where waste could be

misclassified sufficient distance from where most waste was generated, so as

to make transportation unprofitable

effective measures were in place to address all significant alternative

avoidance and evasion opportunities (including measures to ensure accurate

reporting of waste flows)

measures in place that otherwise effectively addressed waste levy avoidance

and evasion were still ineffective in addressing geographic misclassification.

It would also expand the compliance area for the waste levy to include locations with

low population density from which relatively small quantities of waste originate and

from where there would be minimal levy revenue produced. It is therefore unclear

that expanding the waste levy area would be an effective and efficient method to

reduce overall levy avoidance and evasion.

Other considerations

A number of smaller regional local governments dispose of waste at the licensed

landfills of other local governments, where the larger scale allows the landfill to be

well managed and regulated. This can be an environmentally beneficial alternative to

disposal at a local unregulated facility. It is possible that a waste levy in regional

areas may discourage this practice, particularly if it is designed without appropriate

safeguards or exemptions.




The department would appreciate your feedback on the following questions:

1. Are there opportunities for the recovery of regional waste that would be made

more viable by a regional waste levy?

2. Where are these opportunities most likely to be viable?

3. What rate of waste levy could be required to make them viable?

4. Under specific circumstances, it is possible that an expanded waste levy area

could make evasion less financially attractive. How does the cost of transporting

waste over long distances compare with the cost of the levy?

5. What other advantages or disadvantages could arise from a regional waste levy?





7 Waste management options to be levied

Under current regulations for the waste levy, it is applied only to waste received at

landfill premises. At the time that the WARR Levy Act was introduced, in 2007, the

wording of legislation was broadened to refer to a levy on waste disposal, rather than

on landfill. However, at the time there was no intention to apply the levy to anything

other than waste in landfill6.

The Act was passed more than 12 years ago, so it is appropriate for a review of the

scope and application of the waste levy to reconsider whether other waste

management methods should be levied.

Energy recovery

An example of a waste management method that could be levied is energy recovery.

The South Australian Environment Protection Authority has stated that where

feedstock has undergone limited processing the primary function of energy recovery

is waste disposal. In these cases, South Australia’s waste levy may apply.

The waste hierarchy is set out in the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act

2007 and Waste Strategy 2030. It ranks waste management options in order of their

general environmental desirability. The waste hierarchy is used alongside other tools

(including economic, social and environmental assessment tools) to inform decision-

making.

6 Waste Avoidance And Resource Recovery Levy bill 2007, second reading, legislative assembly, 17 October 2007.

https://www.epa.sa.gov.au/files/14206_efw_position_statement.pdf



Resource recovery options recover value from materials, thereby avoiding

environmental impacts of extracting and processing raw materials.

Waste Strategy 2030 gives preference to material recovery over energy recovery and

includes a target to recover energy only from residual waste. Energy recovery is

preferable to landfill disposal but should only be applied to residual waste once

better-practice source-separation approaches have been exhausted. This approach

is consistent with work undertaken over several years on the role of waste to energy

in Western Australia:

In 2013 the Environmental Protection Authority released Report 1468 which

identified that waste-to-energy processes must target genuine residual waste.

The Waste Authority released a position statement on waste to energy in

2013, confirming that waste to energy should only be used for genuine

residual waste that would otherwise go to landfill. This waste-to-energy

position statement will be reviewed and updated in 2020.

In 2018, the Environmental Protection Authority released Report 1623

following an inquiry into the conditions applying to existing waste-to-energy

proposals for residual waste. It recommended a new condition that defines

residual waste and requires continuous improvement towards accepting only

residual waste, as waste generators improve source separation practices.

Waste Strategy 2030 includes a target to recover energy only from residual

waste by 2020.

New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia have policies or are

developing policies that avoid the use of potentially recoverable materials being used

to generate energy.

On 5 March 2019, the Minister for the Environment issued two Ministerial statements

under section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 amending the

implementation conditions for two waste-to-energy facilities in accordance with the

EPA’s recommendations. The Government of Western Australian anticipates that

implementation of the EPA’s recommended conditions will ensure that only residual

waste7 as defined by Waste Strategy 2030 is used to generate energy in Western

Australia. If this is the case, a waste levy on residual waste accepted for energy

recovery would not have a beneficial effect on improving recovery of materials.

However, if a risk remains that recoverable materials (i.e. non-residual waste) may

be used for energy recovery, then the Government may consider additional

measures for reducing or prohibiting this.

7 Waste that remains after the application of a better practice source separation process and recycling system, consistent with the waste hierarchy as described in section 5 of the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act 2007 (WARR Act). Where better practice guidance is not available, an entity’s material recovery performance will need to meet or exceed the relevant stream target (depending on its source - MSW, C&I or C&D) for the remaining non-recovered materials to be considered residual waste under this waste strategy.

https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/your-environment/waste/waste-facilities/energy-recovery

https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/pollution/management/waste/recovery/energy-waste

https://apps.epa.vic.gov.au/~/media/Publications/1559%201.pdf

https://www.epa.sa.gov.au/files/14206_efw_position_statement.pdf



Other waste management options

A waste levy may be a suitable policy instrument to encourage reduction in the level

of an activity. However, a levy on an activity implies that some level of activity is

considered essential, desirable or tolerable.

Stockpiling of waste

There are currently no thresholds or triggers for making the levy payable in

circumstances where waste is stored or stockpiled at waste facilities on a long-term

basis or indefinitely. As part of separate consultation on legislative proposals for

waste reform, the Government is examining options for applying a levy to some

waste held in stockpiles.

Chapter 7 – Consultation

The department would appreciate your feedback on the following questions:

1. Waste Strategy 2030 proposes that by 2020, only residual waste will be used for

energy recovery. How will this requirement affect your waste management

operations?

2. Would a waste levy on energy recovery have a different effect on your

operations?

3. Are there any other waste management options where applying a levy could help

achieve the objective of Waste Strategy 2030?



https://www.der.wa.gov.au/our-work/consultation



8 Other improvements to the waste levy

The waste levy is a key policy instrument in helping to achieve the targets of Waste

Strategy 2030.

The effectiveness and efficiency of the waste levy in achieving the targets of Waste

Strategy 2030 depend on the opportunities and limitations that exist in the waste

industry for better management.

Utilising the specialist knowledge of waste managers is essential for government to

ensure that the waste levy is as effectively and efficiently designed and implemented

as possible.

Chapter 8 – Consultation


1. What other changes to the design or implementation of the waste levy could help

make it more effective or efficient in achieving the targets of Waste Strategy

2030?





9 How to make a submission

Written submissions

Submissions can be lodged (preferred) at

consult.dwer.wa.gov.au/waste-policy/review-of-the-waste-levy

Hard copies can be mailed to:

Waste Levy Review


Locked Bag 10, Joondalup DC, WA 6919

Closing date: May 15, 2020, 5pm (WST)

For further information:

Telephone: (08) 6364 7000

Email: [email protected]




8 Davidson Terrace JOONDALUP WA 6027

Locked Bag 10 Joondalup DC JOONDALUP WA 6919

Phone: +61 8 6364 7000 Fax: +61 8 6364 7001

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